


We Never Leave A Man Behind

by Amledo



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, avengers as activists, veterans rights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-09
Updated: 2014-05-09
Packaged: 2018-01-24 03:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1590557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amledo/pseuds/Amledo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is heartbroken by the state of Veteran's Affairs and seeing his fellow soldiers swept under the rug. He wants to help them and call attention to the injustice being done to the warriors that served so valiantly.  He doesn't expect the Avengers to make the stand with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Never Leave A Man Behind

The kitchen in Avengers Tower is huge, like, really huge. Steve was certain that it was meant to feed an army the first time he stepped foot in it. But no, it’s just for them.

Though with the ever growing number of Avengers it seems like the unnecessary space will be good for them. He’s pretty sure that Bruce doesn’t want to accidentally get trapped in a corner with someone that hasn’t had enough coffee yet. Not to mention the fact that enclosed spaces make more than half of them panicky. Possibly not the best thing for people handling knives or boiling liquid. 

Loki isn’t always going to be around to throw up a shield if one of them gets set off by someone crowding their space. And not all of them have heightened reflexes.

"Penny for your thoughts kid," Bucky’s voice cuts through the static of his headspace and he looks up at his oldest friend. If he doesn’t quite manage to glare properly it goes unmentioned. 

"There’s a lot of us here now. That’s a whole lot of issues crammed into a Tower. But somehow we’re the ones the world looks to when it needs saving," Steve says and shakes his head. He wonders what people would think if they knew that their heroes had PTSD. If they knew that Captain America woke up screaming some nights and sobbing others. He wonders if the world would trust them if they could see Tony curled around Bruce shaking and wheezing after a panic attack. 

"I’m pretty sure they’re too selfish to care. We save them and that’s it. That’s how it always has been. As long as they don’t have to do the fighting…as long as we keep doing our jobs…what does it matter what we feel?" Bucky’s voice isn’t angry and there’s nothing of a grudge in it. He simply sounds worn down. And Steve wishes that he didn’t feel the same way. That they weren’t a house full of broken heroes. 

"Because it should matter. Maybe not us. Maybe we’re too inhuman for that. But what about the troops? Like Sam’s group? Like anyone who brings the war back with them? Why is that just so hard for people to see?" Steve says and scratches his fingers across the countertop in frustration. He watches Bucky for a moment, the brunette’s head tips to the side and the pot of sauce he’s stirring gets turned to a low simmer.

"War is still supposed to be a romantic concept Steve. People will accept death tolls and casualty reports. But once you come back…you’re supposed to be a hero and reinforce the romanticism of war to the public. If you can’t do that because your body or your brain is injured you wind up swept under the rug. You’re no longer an asset to the glorification of battle," Bucky isn’t even facing him anymore, but Steve knows the slight twist of anger to his face all the same. 

The metal arm comes off easily. It’s a command word from Bucky that does it these days. Now that it is marked with the Avengers symbol. Tony had a field day playing with it and making it something that Buck could be comfortable wearing. But Steve is not used to seeing the way Bucky uses it to reach far above his head and retrieve things from the high shelves. He wonders when Bucky became so comfortable with himself. 

He wonders if he’s just going through the motions or if he honestly feels healed. God knows that Steve doesn’t.

"War isn’t romantic. By now people should know that. But if they don’t…I can get more funding for the veterans. If people need Captain America to tell them that PTSD is a real problem…he will," Steve knows that he doesn’t want to do this. Every part of his life has been shared with the world already. But he’s never been selfish before and he isn’t going to start now.

"It doesn’t just have to be Captain America. Or Captain America and Bucky that tell the world about it. We’re a team. And everyone here has their nightmares. We’re with you guys, however you need us," Tony doesn’t startle them. His chime had gone off not that long ago to let them know they’d have company. After one too many episodes of people feeling like they’d been snuck up on it had been a necessary modification to all the rooms in the public living space. 

"You’re already doing your part Anthony," Bucky says and slips the arm back into place. The Stark tech brand of prosthetics are among the cheapest and most functional on the market and they’re practically free to veterans. 

"Not enough. It’s a product. But I have a PR department that could use a new project. And maybe even a couple new voices to get them on the right track. If you want the government to pay attention to the men and women that they’ve mangled, we will get them that attention.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rough draft. But I hope to revisit and expand soon. I'm very passionate about the subject matter and will do my best to make it realistic. Thanks for reading. I will update the summary when the fic itself changes.


End file.
